Mt. Fuji Claims Four Victims as Hiking Season Starts
Four people have died this year already on Mt. Fuji (and the victims don’t appear to be foreign tourists).
By Jay Andrew Allen
Japan has had an intense focus on overtourism of Mt. Fuji lately, with the prefectures where the hiking entrances to Fuji reside taking steps to manage the crowds. Unfortunately, hikers — including Japanese residents — are failing to take the necessary precautions or heed weather warnings. The result is an increase in requests for help — and, in four cases so far, a tragic loss of life.
Four dead as season kicks off
The Mt. Fuji hiking season kicked off recently, with the Yamanashi Prefecture side opening its entrances earlier this month. The Shizuoka entrances opened on July 10th, a few days ago.
The typical route up Fuji is a heck of a climb. Depending on the route, it consists of over 1,000 meters of elevation gain and eight kilometers or more of hiking. The longest route from Shizuoka, Gotemba, only goes up 1,440 meters but consists of 18.9km of total hiking.
